The highlight event of the Spruce Meadows ‘National’ Tournament, presented by ROLEX, featured some of the best show jumping athletes in the world in the exciting $400,000 RBC Grand Prix, presented by ROLEX. Leading that field was Jaime Azcarraga of Mexico on Anton, who was victorious over Jonathan McCrea (USA) with Special Lux and Enrique Gonzalez (MEX) riding Quilebo du Tillard. In the $60,000 TransCanada Parcours de Chasse, Shane Sweetnam and Fineman were fastest for the win.The ‘National’ Tournament, presented by ROLEX, is the first of five tournaments in the Summer Series and concludes Sunday, June 8, with the210,000 CNOOC Nexen Cup 1.50m Derby.

Watch an interview with Jaime Azcarraga!Thirty-seven combinations attempted the first round course set by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil, and just five were able to find the clear path to the jump-off.Jorge noted, “The level of horses and riders was very high. I had in mind to have a difficult course. It’s a five-star and $400,000, so I built the course thinking about that. In the morning I really had to worry about the shades on the course. I think the footing was amazing. We had a lot of four-faulters, so we could easily have had eight or nine clear rounds. Jaime and Enrique were both here at seven o’clock in the morning, so I had to say the ring’s not ready yet! It shows that it pays off to be early. It was a day of great sport.”

Riding in the first phase of 13 horses in the morning, Azcarraga and Anton, his 10-year-old Warmblood gelding by Marlone x Orville, were the first to go in the jump-off. The big bay horse set an unbeatable time of 46.48 seconds with no faults for victory.

“It was a long day,” Azcarraga said with a smile. “To start at nine o’clock, you have to maintain your concentration for a long period of time. It was good because he got a long rest, more than four hours. He was fresh and ready. I just waited here, watched the Parcours de Chasse and tried to maintain calm. It always hard to be the first one, but I tried to set the pace. I had some fast riders behind me, so I knew I had to leave it all as the first round.”

Jaime Azcarraga and Anton clear the ROLEX jump.Following Azcarraga was fellow Mexican rider Enrique Gonzalez on Quilebo du Tillard, who were also clear and quick in 48.90 seconds, which would slot them in third place at the end of the class.Kirsten Coe and Baronez, owned by Ilan Ferder, Lovsta Stuteri, and Tal Milstein, were close to the winning time in 46.73 seconds, but a rail at the last oxer left them in fifth place.Now riding for the United States, Jonathan McCrea and Candy Tribble’s Special Lux cleared all the jumps on course with ease, but were just off the pace in 46.55 seconds for second place.In the first round, McCrea and Special Lux had a bobble on course. McCrea explained, “When I went in, I didn’t show him the wall. I didn’t expect him to spook, and he held off it a little bit. And then I was like, ‘Oh boy, I’m in trouble here.’ The triple bar wasn’t so pretty. For the grace of God the rail stayed there. Then I had to go Irish, back to my roots. I had to change my plan to the liverpool in-and-out. Originally I planned nine (strides), but I was going up and not across, so I figured we’d better go forward. After that, he was normal.”

Jonathan McCrea and Special LuxLast in the jump-off was Kent Farrington (USA), the winner of this class for the past two years, on Voyeur, owned by Amalaya Investments. Farrington was fast enough in 44.50 seconds, but they had four faults at the triple bar on course for fourth place.McCrea and Special Lux, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Lux x Collie Mor Hill, haven’t even been together for a year, but the talented horse has moved up from the 1.40m classes last year after winning the Five-Year-Old and Six-Year-Old championships in Ireland and placing third as a seven-year-old in Aachen. When asked to describe Special Lux, McCrea said, “He’s Irish! He’s been a winner his whole life. His jumping style is definitely a little different. He’s so careful; he doesn’t want to hit a rail. He’s still green at this level.”Gonzalez has worked with Quilebo du Tillard, his 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding by For Pleasure x Quat Sous, since he was coming seven years old and had to work on rideability. “For the first couple years, he was quite difficult,” he revealed. “He was strong and he has, like we say in the horse world, a ‘French mouth.’ He was a little bit tough. Last year I did the 1.50m classes here and he loved the ring, he loved the place. He jumped really good last year, so I was pretty comfortable this week. I trusted him. I just jumped him in one class before the grand prix, and he was really, really good. I was very happy with the way he jumped today.”

Enrique Gonzalez and Quilebo du TillardIt is believed that this is the first time two riders from Mexico were in the medals in a grand prix at Spruce Meadows. “We have some super riders and really nice wins, but I think this is the first time,” Gonzalez said. “It’s an honor to perform this way against the best riders of the world, and to be able to be sitting here.”Azcarraga competed at the CSIO in Xalapa, Mexico, before coming to Spruce Meadows, and he has had Anton for two years. With a solid effort in Xalapa, he felt that he was ready, but noted that coming to a five-star at Spruce Meadows was different, especially considering this was Anton’s first international show. “Since I jumped the first day, I felt like [he] liked the course here. The footing was unbelievable, and the conditions were perfect,” he said. “It was a bit shocking when I walked the course, the height. In the morning I was saying to Guilherme, ‘Oh my God, I hope he can jump this.’ He has the heart of a champion, and he likes to fight.”

Jaime Azcarraga and AntonAzcarraga hasn’t been to Spruce Meadows since 2009, but he started his 2014 season with a bang after winning last night’s $35,000 RBC Capital Markets Cup 1.50m Winning Round class with Matador and now taking the biggest class of the ‘National’ Tournament. Azcarraga was second in this grand prix in 2008 with Presley Boy. He smiled, “It was the best week of my life, unbelievable.”

12 FLEXIBLE: Irish bred / S / 18 Cruising x SafariRICH FELLERS (USA), Harry & Mollie Chapman: 4/84.66Sweetnam Speeds to the WinIn the $60,000 TransCanada Parcours de Chasse 1.45m, the course featured 14 numbered obstacles, including the table bank and small derby bank with a jump at the bottom. The format was faults converted, so even with a rail down, competitors could do well if they were fast enough.

Shane Sweetnam and FinemanThe early leader was Hector Florentino (DOM) on Anemone’s Vicky, owned by Stransky’s Mission Farms. They set the time at 84.71 seconds. Nine horses later, it was Darragh Kenny (IRL) and Oakland Ventures LLC’s Fantasy who brought the winning time down to 79.982 seconds, which would hold up for second place.Coming close was fellow Irishman Conor Swail on Susan Grange’s Ariana, who stopped the clock in 80.703 seconds for third place.Sweetnam made it an Irish sweep of the top ribbons when he and Fineman, an 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding by Feliciano x Beach Boy, sped through the course, staying low and fast over the jumps and finishing in 79.254 seconds.Having the chance to ride in a variety of classes and derbies growing up is what Sweetnam believes gives the Irish riders a slight edge. “I think we’re quite good at the derbies because we do it when we’re kids. We do it on small, medium, large ponies; we learn at an early age. Normally we don’t have the sun! Normally it’s raining when we do the derby,” he smiled.Sweetnam had gone earlier in the class with Cyklon 1083, and Sweetnam said he “made a little bit of a mistake with him,” which he corrected on Fineman. “When I was going up, it’s a hard enough entry on the bank with the little gate, and I took a pull and I shouldn’t have taken a pull. I should have kept going,” he said.He knew the times posted by Kenny and Swail and what he would have to do to get that winning time. “Darragh and Conor are very fast riders, I know they’re fast. After I had gone with Cyklon – he was 81 (seconds) with a fence down – then I knew, if I was going to break 79 (seconds), what I had to do in some places and take more risk,” he explained.

Shane Sweetnam raises his winning check.Sweetnam sold Fineman at the beginning of the year, so he was happy to have the ride back just a week before the Spruce Meadows Summer Series, especially since the “versatile” horse can fill a variety of roles in speeds, derbies, 1.50m, and more. “It was good timing,” he affirmed. “He’s just a very versatile horse, and you can do a lot of things with him. He’s jumped indoors. He’s a great horse that way, you can do anything you want and know with him that as fast as I go, he’ll try as hard as he can.”Sweetnam and Fineman will contest tomorrow’s $210,000 CNOOC Nexen Cup 1.50m Derby.Final Results: $60,000 TransCanada Parcours de Chasse

12 AD VANGELYS: Belgian Sport Horse / G / 9 Rock du val Tibermont x UnknownEMANUEL ANDRADE (VEN), Hollow Creek Farm: 87.696The Spruce Meadows ‘National’ Tournament concludes with tomorrow’s competition, the $40,000 ATCO Structures & Logistics 1.45m Speed and the $210,000 CNOOC Nexen Cup 1.50m Derby. For more information and full results, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.Based in Calgary, Canada, Spruce Meadows is the brainchild of the Southern family who built a Show Jumping complex at the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. It was in 1976 that the first Spruce Tournaments were held, with annual spectator attendances reaching over 50,000 by the end of the decade. Today, Spruce Meadows boasts one of the greatest outdoor equestrian venues in the world and offers an incredible experience for riders and fans alike. Spruce Meadows focuses on the organization and hosting of show jumping tournaments of unmatched quality for junior, amateur and professional athletes in a manner that reflects basic family values in a clean, green and welcoming environment that celebrates the horse and encourages the breeding and training of quality sport horses and the teaching and development of athletes. For more information on Spruce Meadows, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.